“Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure”- Napoleon Hill
Odontrack has published many success stories so far, but this one is unique, for it will motivate you to never give up even after major initial failures. During the course of your undergraduation, if you feel that you are demotivated or have lost the urge to perform well in life, this is the story that you need to read.
We got a chance to talk to Dr. Kumar Prashant who has finished his Junior Residency at AIIMS, New Delhi and now pursuing his MDS in Prosthodontics from Government Dental College, Indore. Here are the excerpts from our talk :-
Hello Dr. Prashant. Kindly brief us through your profile.
I joined BDS at Manipal University in August 2007. Going slow and steady with check posts of seven detained subjects, I took little more than normal to finally complete my degree in April 2013. After completing the simpler part I joined All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) as Junior Resident in January 2014 and also worked for a NGO in New Delhi before joining Post-Graduation at Government Dental College, Indore.
You mentioned you were detained in 7 subjects during your Undergraduation (BDS). Why did that happen?
A little bit of good company and a little bit of bad.
What motivated you to prepare for MDS Entrance Exams, especially after the fiasco during BDS?
The current scenario of dentistry as a profession in our country persuaded me with the idea of pursuing MDS. With more and more specialist in the market, especially in the metro cities, having a MDS degree gives you an edge to perform better.
For how long did you prepare?
After completing my graduation at MCODS Manipal, I started with the competitive exam preparations which lasted in two phases. The first phase of my preparation was from July 2013 to December 2013 after which I joined the JRship programme at AIIMS. The second phase started couple of months after the completion of programme which lasted from October 2014 to January 2015.
Which all books/resources/coaching centers/test series did you use during your preparation?
Books – ( Name of the Authors, not the books as they are widely known)
1. Dentest Basic Science by Gowri Shankar
2. Dental Pulse Clinical Science
3. Neeraj Wadhwan 10 years paper
4. NBDE papers
5. Dental Explorer
6. Ritu Duggal
7. Pankaj Dhawan
8. Jitender Sharan
9. Manisha Prabhakar
10. Mudit Khanna
11. Amit Ashish
12. AIIMS SRship Papers
Resources
1. Medcram (https://www.youtube.com/user/MEDCRAMvideos)
2. University of Michigan (https://www.youtube.com/user/UMichDent)
3. Dr Najeeb Lectures (https://www.youtube.com/user/DoctorNajeeb)
4. Wikipedia
Coaching/Test Series – None
So you did your JRship (Junior Residency) at AIIMS. How did you feel when you got to know that you are going to AIIMS?
With the graduation being long and rough, it was definitely a very special moment.
How was the experience at AIIMS? Any interesting/life changing/motivating experience you want to share with others?
Life at AIIMS taught a lot of things. Being the apex medical education body, we got to observe and work on a lot of special and rare cases. With cases being referred from throughout the country we learned in quantum from our teachers and seniors.
Were you working while preparing for AIPGDEE 2015 (which you aced) or were you preparing full time?
Both
Why Prosthodontics? Was it your 1st choice?
Yes. Prosthodontics is a vast, challenging integrated branch of five more sub-subjects.
What all ranks did you get in all the MDS Entrance Exams you have appeared in so far?
AIR – 24, AIIMS – Nov 2013
AIR – 56, AIPGDEE – Jan 2015
Karnataka CET -04
COMEDK – 22
KLE – 18
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
A Good Prosthodontist and a better Dentist.
Any tips and tricks for the fresher dentists ?
Firstly, stick to the basics. Keep them strong. Answer the questions according to the subjects and approach involved, not according to the books (direct pick) from which we assume that they have been asked. Secondly, utilize all the available resources. The examination pattern in the recent times has changed tremendously which requires the competitors to be abreast with the comprehensive and contemporary knowledge of the subjects. Don’t constrain yourself to the bookish knowledge. The resources mentioned above are some suggested ways of increasing the purview of your competitive knowledge.
Dr. Prashant is currently pursuing MDS in Proshtodontics from GDC Indore. He can be contacted at patientchannel.dr.kp@gmail.com
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